January in second for highest gas prices

According to an AAA monthly report, the price of gas in January was the second highest average on record for the month.

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By Staff Reports

Smyrna/Clayton Sun-Times

By Staff Reports

Posted Feb. 1, 2013 at 3:13 PM
Updated Feb 1, 2013 at 3:38 PM

By Staff Reports

Posted Feb. 1, 2013 at 3:13 PM
Updated Feb 1, 2013 at 3:38 PM

Dover, Del.

According to an AAA monthly report, the price of gas in January was the second highest average on record for the month.

The national average price of gasoline increased 13 cents (four percent) a gallon in January, which was the first monthly increase since August. Gas prices nationally have increased 14 days in a row for a total of 22 days during the month. Drivers in the Northeast continue paying among the highest prices in the continental U.S. because local production and supplies still have not recovered from Hurricane Sandy.

Drivers in the Midwest saw the highest price increases for January as a result of rising crude oil costs in the region and decreased gasoline supplies. States with the highest monthly price increases included Minnesota, 33 cents; Indiana, 24 cents; Michigan, 23 cents; Illinois, 23 cents.

AAA expects the national average to increase in February due to seasonal refinery actions, but at a slower pace than in the previous two years when the average climbed by 29 cents per gallon, (2012) and 27 cents per gallon (2011). Despite the expected slower overall pace, it is likely the national average will rise temporarily above year-ago levels in the coming days.